Small kitchens have to make good use of every scrap of space, and the side of the refrigerator is often wide open and begging to be used. What about taking down the magnets and pizza menus and putting up one of these side shelves instead?
These two over-the-side-of-the-fridge shelves leave something to be desired in their aesthetics; we think they're fairly clunky and verging on kitschy. But they do look terribly practical! We have a small space between our fridge and cabinet, but not enough for a rolling shelf. We'd love to make good use of the fridge for storing some small jars and maybe our kitchen towels too.
What do you think? Do you use fridge shelves like these? Are they practical and helpful? Have you seen other examples of fridge-side shelves? (We had a hard time finding any more than these.)
Find them:
• Refrigerator Side Shelf, $14.99 at Collections Etc. (currently sold out)
• Wooden Refrigerator Rack, $ at $14.99 at Collections Etc.
Related: Small Space Solution: Narrow Rolling Pantry Shelves
(Images: Collections Etc.)
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clutter-rific
I'm going to try to put a magnetic knife rack up on the side of my fridge (once it arrives since somehow ikea was out!). That space is just really where it wants to live so I'm going to see if I can make it work. I currently keep some things like nuts in a little tin on the side of the fridge (think about all the magnetic spice tins, why don't more people stick them on the fridge?
If there was a more streamlined one (you're right, these are clunky and not very nice looking) that'd be perfect for holding all of my spice jars!
Right now they're in a rack that spins (a lazy Susan-esque thing) on my counter, but using something like that would free up so much surface space.
I used to store my spices on the side of the fridge (they had magnets), but I didn't really care for it. It was too easy to knock down the jars, and then, well, we all know what happens next.
I'm not so big on the look of these racks, but I love the idea (especially for small kitchens like mine!)
Great idea, unfortunate execution! Does anyone have a more streamlined version?
For a more modern and less cluttered version of this, The Container Store (and probably some other places) sell super-strong magnet hooks. I have those on the side of my fridge holding a dishtowel, tea cozy, and other important tools which need a home. Rather than decor and mementos and clutter.
I have looked and looked for a nicer version but no luck. Maybe someone else has more powerful Google Magic - if you find something please post it here!
i bet there is a way to make one with ikea parts.
Hack-attack w/Grundtal.
How about a slab of pegboard hooked to the fridge? You could maybe frame it with wood or molding and paint it white or the color of your fridge to blend in. There are a slew of hooks and bins available for pegboard, too, some of which are colorful or epoxy-coated, if you're not keen on metal.
I never thought of using that space but now would really like to. As long as I can find something kinda cute...
Ohhh, this is an idea turned DIY just waiting to happen. Love the idea.
If you paint that darker one it's not bad. The light wood one is awful, I'm surprised it doesn't have pastel stenciled geese and ribbons on it.
I'm mostly attracted to the paper towel rack as the side of my fridge would be the most convenient place to put that (rather than on my tiny counter).
This is the best thing that has ever happened to me! I have very little space in my darling rental kitchen and the walls above the stove and around the sink are tiled so I can't add shelves or anything. I will buy one of these.
P.S. If you painted it the same color as your fridge, maybe it would sort of dissappear?
Anyone think they know how they are anchored to the fridge? I can't imagine that they rely on the weight of the shelves on those horizontal arms alone...especially if you're ripping paper towels off the one!
We keep our spices on the side of our fridge, magnetized. We played around with putting our knives there, too (on the popular Grundtal magnetic strip), but couldn't find a satisfactory way to mount the knife rack without screwing it into the fridge. In a rental, that seemed less optimal.
I think it depends on where your fridge is placed and how accessible the side is. I see above that someone complained of knocking her spices off the side of the fridge, but we haven't had any problems with that.
These shelves just seem like more trouble than they're worth -- why not use magnets and let the storage adhere directly to the fridge? That said, the above suggestions of Grundtal hacks might be just the thing... imagine a whole fridge-side with a series of stainless rails down its length. Sounds awesome!